In the digital age, an author’s website is among your most important assets. After all, it’s your home base online and your only truly owned corner of the Internet. This is where readers will turn to discover you, connect, and learn about your writing. Thus, it is important that your website establishes a recognizable look… Read more »
Facebook is constantly making updates to its algorithms—the coding formulas that decide what shows up in your user feed. This means if you are an author using Facebook, it would be very wise to stay on top of the latest news about these updates, and know how to continue to get the most out of… Read more »
Twitter continues to be the very best social network for the publishing industry. Whether you’re publishing traditional, self, indie, or hybrid, your people are here, both writers and other pros. But if you’re not using hashtags, you’re not fully engaged with this online community yet. Social media (emphasis on social) is like a cocktail party…. Read more »
As indie, small press, or otherwise “emerging” authors, we are told a lot how important it is to have an email list. It’s even a foundational piece of our DIY MFA Pixels to Platform course. It’s a core principle of platforming I hammer home for my coaching clients, too, in early sessions, and I emphasize… Read more »
The turn of a new year is a great time to pause and take stock. This is as true for your online author platform as it is in anything else. In fact, your platform is a great place to apply this, because of the rich amount of data available to you. How do you put… Read more »
Social media is, of course, a cornerstone of an author’s online platform. But once you’ve got your accounts set up, what do you do with them? “I don’t have anything to say,” is a common refrain among authors first starting to use social media. And indeed, there is a lot of pressure to post frequently… Read more »
As I write this article, I am mid-launch for my third book. There are a lot of tactics that go into generating excitement around a new release, but let’s be honest—some are more fun than others. One of my favorite ways to celebrate a new release is with teaser graphics. A good teaser graphic creates… Read more »
As an author, your email list is your most valuable platforming asset. Why? Because it’s your most direct line to your biggest fans. With so many platforming tools, your following is actually owned by the application you’re using. Consider: When you’re on Facebook, you have to play by Facebook’s rules. If they change their algorithm… Read more »
At this point, I don’t have to tell you that Amazon is a behemoth in the publishing industry. Even more so if you’re self-published. One intriguing feature that Amazon has developed in the last couple years is the Amazon Follow button. Part of Amazon’s genius has been that it finds ways that help it grow… Read more »
Most of us know the basics of online platforming by now – slap those links on your home page, post regularly, be engaged. But when I tell people that I do a lot of my best online platform growth at in-person events, I get a lot of raised eyebrows. It can already feel like a… Read more »
